Virginia Beach Native Promoted to Rear Admiral

CLEVELAND – U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Fred Midgette (center) hands his new rank insignia to his daughter, Maggie (left), as his wife, Mary, removes his captain shoulderboards during a ceremony in which he was promoted to rear admiral in Cleveland Jan. 14, 2010.

CLEVELAND – A Coast Guard officer, serving as chief of staff of the Ninth Coast Guard District, was promoted today to the rank of rear admiral lower half in a ceremony held at the district headquarters in the Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building here.

Rear Adm. Fred Midgette, a native of Virginia Beach, Va., was promoted from his previous rank of captain in a ceremony presided over by Rear Adm. Mike Parks, Ninth Coast Guard District commander.

Midgette serves as chief of staff of the Ninth District, which oversees Coast Guard missions in the Great Lakes region. The Ninth Coast Guard District encompasses eight states, a 1,500-mile international border, and a workforce of nearly 7,000 active-duty, reserve, civilian and Auxiliary Coast Guardsmen. Prior to his current assignment, he served as commander of Coast Guard Sector Detroit.

He will depart the Ninth District later this year to assume the duties of Military Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Midgette, a 1982 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Coast Guard Academy, a Master of Science in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.

Coast Guard officers who attain the rank of rear admiral lower half and beyond are considered “flag officers.” Coast Guardsmen serving in those ranks – in order: rear admiral lower half, rear admiral upper half, vice admiral and admiral – make up less than one percent of Coast Guard officers.